Page 95 of You'll Be the Death of Me
“Hey, that’s a perk. Still too bad about the no-eating thing though.”
He led her into a hallway with zigzag-patterned carpet and gray walls the same color as his bedroom. “You can’t eat only while you’re in the DAD. Once you move on, you can have anything you want.”
“Huh. So, the administration prioritizes entertainment over nutrition. Got it.”
“They have to do something to keep people occupied while they wait. This way.” He tugged her hand to lead her around a corner to a staircase. They followed it down into a sparse lobby with a row of mailboxes on one wall and linoleum floor.
“Not much for interior design around here, are they?” Dell commented as they approached the glass doors leading outside.
“Not indoors, no,” Cole said. “But outdoors—”
Dell cut him off with a gasp. They’d stepped into Oz, had it been painted with sorbet-colored skies and rolling green lawns. Cherry blossoms puffed like pink cotton balls down each side of the street in front of them. An improbable number of purple tulips burst out of flower beds lining the sidewalk.
“What do you see?” Cole asked.
Dell looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean, what do I see?”
He nodded out in front of them. “It looks different to everyone. It’s based on your favorite season.”
A wonderous laugh burst out of her. “Seriously?”
“Yes. What do you see?”
She grinned at their surroundings, taking it all in. “I see flowers. A pink sunset, bright green grass. Cherry blossoms.”
“Spring,” Cole said with a soft smile. “Of course you see spring.”
She looked at him with a quirk of her mouth. “Let me guess,you see... pumpkins. Crunchy leaves. Slanted sunlight. You are an autumn through and through.”
He smiled down at her. “You are correct. What do you smell?”
Dell deeply inhaled and caught the scent of chocolate cake. Caramel. A sprinkle of sea salt. “Dessert,” she said.
Cole laughed. “It smells like happiness.”
She couldn’t help smiling bigger. “What do you smell?”
“Books. Coffee. Petrichor.”
“You are a stereotype in the best way possible.” She popped up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“I guess now that we know who I was, it all fits.”
“Yes, the clothing, the hair, the aloof professor vibe. I bet your students were obsessed with you.”
“Ha,” he said flatly. “Whataboutmy hair?”
“Oh please. Don’t act like you don’t know you have Prince Charming hair.”
He dramatically swung his head back and forth like he was in a shampoo commercial, and Dell laughed.
He tugged her hand and stopped walking. “Dell,” he said with a serious note. “Thank you for helping me.” He looked up at the sunset sky and thickly swallowed before speaking again. “Every day I’d forget more and more. I can’t even describe what it’s like to lose your life bit by bit. I didn’t realize how much I longed for it until it started coming back. And getting to see my parents...” He didn’t have the words, she could tell.
She reached up as if she were brushing a tear from his eye, though of course there was nothing there. “You’re welcome.”
She studied Cole’s handsome face and thought about what it would be like to wake up next to him each morning. Surely, they’d spend an hour or so devouring each other in bed before theyactually got up to do anything—a shift in her routine she would welcome. And then they’d have breakfast together and go off to their respective days: Cole teaching at the university, and Dell running a restaurant. Or maybe they’d do something completely different. The world felt wide open with Cole beside her. No roles to fill, no boxes to check. Maybe they’d move to France and he’d teach English and she’d cook in some tiny restaurant where she’d continue learning from the masters without the pressure of her name being on the lease.
The idea was lovely, even if impossible.
